RAWALPINDI: Cracks have appeared in the local chapter of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) after Imran Khan decided to appoint an acting president for the Rawalpindi district.

The PTI office-bearers here termed the decision a violation of the party rules and refused to accept it.

The PTI chairman named MPA Ijaz Khan Jazi as the acting president of the Rawalpindi district after the suspension of 10 office-bearers, including the district president and MPA Arif Abbasi, for beating Imran Khan’s cousin Ahmed Niazi at the sit-in site outside Parliament House.

However, PTI Punjab north secretary general Hina Manzoor on Saturday held a meeting of the party and appointed Iqbal Niazi as the acting president Punjab north and Chaudhry Zubair as the acting district president.

She made it clear that the party would not accept any appointments made in violation of the constitution. She also issued a press release about the decisions taken during the meeting.

Later in the evening, Ijaz Khan Jazi also called a meeting at the PTI office in Satellite Town to chalk out a plan for mobilising people for the November 30 public gathering in Islamabad. However, only three main local leaders attended the meeting. Prominent among those were: PTI Rawal Town president Chaudhry Asghar and district general secretary Shahid Gilani.

Office-bearers reject Imran Khan’s decision to appoint acting district president and term it against party rules

A senior official of the party told Dawn that 2,300 office-bearers in the district had been called to the meeting but they did not turn up and demanded that senior vice-presidents Punjab north and the Rawalpindi should be given the charge of acting presidents.

“According to the party rules, the senior vice-president will become the acting president in the absence of the president.”

He also said the office-bearers had been elected in 2013 before the general elections and their performance remained good as the party won six seats of provincial and two seats of the National Assembly.

“The local workers criticised the decision to appoint Ijaz Khan Jazi as the acting president, because he is close to Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed and contested the 2002 elections with the symbol of moon in Sheikh Rashid’s group.”

He said the local leaders also complained that Imran Khan took the decision relying on TV actor Hamza Abbasi as a witness to the alleged beating of his cousin.

“Hamza Abbasi informed Imran Khan that PTI Punjab north president Sadaaqat Abbasi thumbs up the workers as they beat up Imran’s cousin Ahmed Niazi. The PTI chief suspended the office-bearers without listening to their points of view in violation of the party’s constitution,” he said.

When contacted, the PTI suspended district president Arif Abbasi said his membership was suspended till the inquiry of the matter, adding he would not comment on the matter till the decision of the inquiry committee.

However, he accepted that under the party rules the senior vice-president would take over the charge in the absence of the president.

Ijaz Khan Jazi told Dawn that the local leaders and workers did not oppose his appointment as Imran Khan.

He said the meeting was called to chalk out a plan for the November 30 public meeting. He said a few people were invited to the meeting as others were busy in the Jhelum public meeting of the PTI on Sunday.

The PTI Punjab north secretary general, Hina Manzoor, could not be contacted for comments.